Abstract
Diffuse pollution lacks a specific point of discharge. Many activities can lead to diffuse water
pollution. However, agriculture is among the key sources (Patterson et al. 2013; Thornton
et al. 2013; Wiering et al. 2020), next to industry, urban land use, forestry and atmospheric
deposition. In this chapter, the emphasis is placed on the governance of nutrients stemming
from agriculture. Contemporary agriculture requires high levels of organic and inorganic
fertilizers, leading to high nutrient input and surpluses, such as phosphorus and nitrogen in
water bodies. These in turn lead to eutrophication and the explosive growth of algae and duckweed.
This cascades from loss of oxygen and increase of toxins to loss of plants and animal
species, and worsening conditions for both humans and ecosystems. In the European Union
(EU), the Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) has been adopted to tackle water
quality problems and improve water-based ecosystems. Because there are no easy solutions
for diffuse pollution, a river basin-specific, iterative approach has been developed during the
implementation of the WFD that reflects key features of ‘experimentalist governance’ (Sabel
and Zeitlin 2012).
This chapter will examine the inherent challenges and opportunities associated with nonpoint
source pollution and water bodies, thereby focusing on surface waters, and critically
discusses the governance approach chosen so far in the EU. After highlighting the wickedness
of the diffuse pollution problem, the nature of the governance approach will be discussed. The
question posed is whether this open, procedural and soft approach of experimentalist governance
really helps to achieve the ambitious objectives of the WFD. The chapter will sketch
out the governance approach as understood in the Netherlands and puts this in a comparative
perspective, discussing the implementation of the WFD in other EU countries. Finally, the
‘creating commons’ concept is introduced to revise the notion of experimentalist governance
and make it more accountable.
